lowe’s

We understand the desire to redecorate, but just because your budget is low doesn’t mean you should try stealing yourself a new patio set. A New Jersey husband-and-wife team is accused of exploiting a website glitch in an effort to scam $258,000 worth of merchandise from Lowe’s, including a gazebo and lawn mower. [More]

There’s a neat trick that big-box stores like Lowe’s have pulled off in some states. They claim that for tax purposes, their open, thriving businesses should be valued the same as empty property, so that they pay way less. In one state, though, a lawmaker being called back for a special session of the legislature is hoping he can end the practice locally. [More]

If you’ve ever wanted to strap on a robotic exoskeleton to tussle with a xenomorph like Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, you might want to consider working at Lowe’s. No, the home improvement chain isn’t getting into the business of defeating extraterrestrial terrors, but it is working on a wearable robotic suit to help workers lift and move heavy things. [More]

The bankruptcy and liquidation of hhgregg is terrible for the retailer’s employees and retail landlords, but someone may benefit from the retailer’s downfall. Best Buy has a national presence and a large overlap with what hhgregg sells, and is in a position to pick up some of the retailer’s former customers the next time that they need a fridge or a computer. [More]

An annoyed customer brought a Lowe’s appliance ad to the attention of the National Ad Division, a self-regulation program for advertisers run by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Their complaint? An ad promoting “20% off appliances $396 or more at Lowe’s” was largely untrue, except for the parts that said “appliances” and “Lowe’s.” [More]

If you see a TV that normally sells for $2,000 suddenly listed for sale at $99, you probably know it’s either stolen, worthless, or — most likely — a pricing error. You’re free to try to take advantage of that goof, but you don’t really have much of a legal leg to stand on if they realize the error and cancel your order.[More]

The discount chain Target is very good at many things, which include designer partnerships and building tiny stores. It’s very bad at some other things, which include selling groceries and putting prices on products that make any sense. “Target Math” is the name we give to these bizarre bulk markups, “sale” items that aren’t actually discounted, and pricing discrepancies within the same store — but this dubious art isn’t just practiced in the halls of Target. [More]

A big-box store is, by definition, well, big. All that retail, storage, and parking space takes up a fair amount of land. So you’d think that in any state with a property tax, stores would, well, be taxed on their property. And they are… until they’re not.

A man who briefly worked for a company owned by Lowe’s is at risk of losing his current medical insurance after finding out that the home improvement retailer took out a health insurance policy in his name after he stopped working there. [More]

It’s bleak out there for a clothing retailer, with sales slumping at many chains, leading some — American Apparel, Aeropostale, Pacsun, among others — to declare bankruptcy. So if we aren’t shopping for items to clad our bodies, what are we shopping for?

When a company tells gives you a “per square foot” price for flooring, it would be nice to know if that means “per square foot of the floor(s) being covered” or “per square foot of the material ordered to do the job,” because those are often two very different numbers. For years, Lowe’s failed to make this distinction, which is why the home improvement retailer has agreed to refund up to $1.1 million to flooring customers in New York state. [More]

If you find a trip to your local home-improvement superstore daunting and stressful, imagine being a young adult beaver preparing to build your first home. One of the rodents wandered into the chain’s location in Fairbanks, Alaska, and wandered the store’s aisles aimlessly. It was as likely to find twigs and mud as you are to agree on a paint shade for the master bedroom. [More]

While Lumber Liquidators has been the target of lawsuits and federal investigations into allegations that the company’s China-sourced flooring contains exceedingly high levels of formaldehyde, hardware giant Lowe’s is now facing similar accusations from the hedge fund analyst who helped spark the Lumber Liquidators investigation. [More]